21. Varronem. Publius Terentius Varro, surnamed Atacinus from the river Atax (Aude), in Gallia Narbonnensis, on the banks of which he was born, about 82 B.C. He was the author of a translation or close imitation of the work of Apollonius Rhodius, on the Argonautic Expedition, of a poem on the war of Caesar with the Sequani, and of satires, elegies, and epigrams. Of all these a few unimportant fragments only remain. He is mentioned by Horace as having failed in satire, S. 1. 10, 46 'Hoc erat, experto frustra Varrone Atacino, Atque quibusdam aliis, melius quod scribere possem,' while Propertius alludes to his elegies, 2. 34, 85 'Haec quoque perfecto ludebat Iasone Varro, Varro Leucadiae maxima flamma suae,' and the following judgment is pronounced by Quinctilian, IO. I 'Atacinus Varro in iis per quae nomen est assecutus, interpres operis alieni non spernendus quidem, verum ad augendam facultatem dicendi parum locuples.' 22. Aesonio...duci, i. e. Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, son of Aeson, king of Iolchos. 23. Lucreti. Lucretius, the author of the poem De Rerum Natura, which is an exposition of the physical system of Epicurus, was born about 95 B.C., and is supposed to have died 52 B.C., in his forty-fourth year. Of his life no particulars are known. The epithet here applied by Ovid is well merited, for notwithstanding the abstruse and technical discussions inseparable from his theme, he has lighted up his work with some of the grandest bursts of poetry to be found in any language. 24. Exitio terras, &c. Ovid seems here to refer to the words of Lucretius, 5. 93 'Principio maria ac terras caelumque tuere; 25. Virgil. Born 70 B.C.; died 19 B.C. 29, 30. Gallus... Lycoris. See note on 5. 64. 34. Auriferi...Tagi. The Tagus and the Pactolus are constantly celebrated by the ancient poets, on account of their golden sands. Thus And 'Maeonia generose domo, ubi pinguia culta 'Sed cuius votis modo non suffecerat aurum Juv. S. 14. 298, of the shipwrecked merchant. 36. Castaliae aquae. The waters of the Castalian spring, the favourite resort of Apollo, the Muses and the Nymphs, pour down from Parnassus through a chasm of the rifted crag which rises perpendicularly behind Delphi, and are received in a large square bason hewn out of the marble rock. 38. Multus...legar. 'multus' is equivalent to quently,' 'ever and anon.' In this and similar expressions 'multum,' in the sense of 'freCompare Sall. Jug. 86 'Marius antea iam infestus nobilitati, tum vero multus atque ferox instare.' And again, c. 101 'In operibus, in agmine, atque ad vigilias multus adesse.' 39. Fata. Death, after the decrees of destiny are accomplished. 41, 42. Compare the whole of Hor. Od. 3. 30, and especially 'Non omnis moriar, multaque pars mei Vitabit Libitinam :' 4. MORS PSITTACI. AM. II. 6. 1. Pliny, H. N. 10. 42, gives the following account of parrots: Super omnia humanas voces reddunt psittaci : quidam etiam sermocinantes. India hanc avem mittit, sittacen vocat, viridem toto corpore, torque tantum miniato in cervice distinctam. Imperatores salutat, et quae accipit verba pronuntiat, in vino praecipue lasciva. Capiti eius duritia eadem, quae rostro. Hoc, cum loqui discit, ferreo verberatur radio: non sentit aliter ictus. Cum devolat, rostro re excipit, illi innititur: levioremque se ita pedum infirmitati facit.' Statius, Silv. 2. 4, has a poem on the death of a favourite Persius parrot, evidently suggested by the elegy before us. alludes to the practice of teaching parrots to salute visitors — 'Quis expedivit psittaco suum xaipe1?' Prol. Sat. 1. 2-6. These lines allude to the solemn funeral procession of a noble Roman, in which a troop of 'praeficae' or hired mourning women played a conspicuous part, who chaunted the praises of the dead, beating their breasts and tearing their hair, and making every outward demonstration of extravagant grief. Thus in a fragrant of Lucilius, we read Mercede quae Conductae flent alieno in funere praeficae Multo et capillos scindunt, et clamant magis.' A band of trumpeters also was in attendance, to which we find frequent reference, for example Prop. 2. 13, 17 'Quandocunque igitur nostros nox claudet ocellos, Nec mea tunc longa spatietur imagine pompa, And Persius speaking of a death caused by gluttony, S. 3. 103 'Hinc tuba, candelae;'...... 2. Exsequias ite. 'Exsequiae' properly denotes 'a funeral procession following the bier from the mansion of the deceased to the grave or pyre;' 'ire exsequias' is to attend such a procession. Compare Terent. Phorm. 5. 8, 37 'Exsequias Chremeti, quibus est commodum, ire, hem! tempus est,' Exsequias animae, et cinerem donate supremi Plangite. Plangere signifies 1. Generally, 'to beat,' 'to strike;' 2. Specially, 'to beat the breast, &c. in token of grief,' and is construed either with the accusative of the object struck, or of the object of sorrow, or absolutely without a regimen, thus— 1. 'Plangebant alii proceris tympana palmis' 1 A magpie was sometimes suspended over the threshold for the same purpose, thus Petron. 28 Super limen cavea pendebat aurea, in qua pica varia intrantes salutabat.' 2. 'Adspicit Alphenor, laniataque pectora plangens' 3. 'Nec dubium de morte ratae, Cadmeida palmis 4. 'planxere sorores Naides, et sectos fratri posuere capillos. 7. Ismarii...tyranni. Tereus. The substance of this celebrated tale, according to the account of Apollodorus, is as follows : Pandion, king of Athens, had two daughters, Procne and Philomela. Being involved in war with his neighbour Labdacus king of Thebes, upon a boundary question, he called in to his assistance Tereus, king of Thrace, brought the war to a happy termination through his aid, and bestowed upon him his daughter Procne in marriage. The fruit of this union was a son named Itys. Tereus became enamoured of Philomela, and having gained possession of her, under the pretext that Procne was dead, shut her up and cut out her tongue that she might be unable to disclose his villany. However, by weaving certain characters upon a web, she contrived to make her misfortunes known to her sister, who, having found out her place of confinement, put Itys to death, cooked his flesh and served it up as a repast for Tereus, and then took to flight accompanied by Philomela. Tereus, on discovering the horrid truth, snatched up a hatchet and pursued the fugitives, who being overtaken at Daulias in Phocis, prayed to the gods that they might be changed into birds. Accordingly, Procne became a nightingale, and Philomela a swallow; Tereus was also metamorphosed and turned into an Epops or Hoopoo. There are several variations in this story as narrated by different authors, the most important among which is that the Latin poets Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Statius, concur in representing that Philomela was changed into a nightingale, and Procne into a swallow. The most ancient form of the legend is preserved in Homer Od. 19. 518 'As when the daughter of Pandareos sings, With many a trill she pours her long drawn notes King Zethus' son, whom erst with brazen sword According to the scholiast, Aedon (i.e. nightingale), one of the three daughters of Pandareos, son of Merops, a Milesian, was married to Zethus, and bore him a son named Itylus, but being jealous of the superior fertility of Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, wife of her brother-in-law Amphion, she laid a plot for the destruction of the fairest among her children, who was named Amaleus, and was in the habit of sleeping with his cousin Itylus. She entered the chamber of the boys by night, to accomplish the bloody deed, but, mistaking their position, slew her own son. Overwhelmed with grief she implored the gods that she might cease to consort with mankind, and was accordingly transformed into the bird which bears her name. 7. Ismarii, i. e. Thracian. Ismarus was the name of one of the lateral branches of Rhodope, separating the valley of the Schoenos from the lower valley of the Hebrus, and terminating in the Ismarium Promontorium (C. Marogna). Its slopes were celebrated for the wine which they produced, as early as the days of Homer, Odyss. 1. 197, and preserved their reputation in later times. Virg. G. 2. 37 'Iuvat Ismara Baccho Conserere, atque olea magnum vestire Taburnum.' A town Ismarus is mentioned in the Odyssey, 1. 40, which belonged to the Cicones, and was taken and destroyed by Ulysses. 9. Devertite ... in funus, 'turn from your path to attend the obsequies.' 'Devertere' signifies to turn aside from a road for the purpose of entering a lodging or place of public entertainment, and hence ‘deversorium' means an inn, and 'deversari' to lodge with any one. 12. Turtur amice. The ancients believed that a natural friendship existed between turtle-doves and parrots. Pliny, who devotes a chapter to the innate sympathies and antipathies of animals, observes', 'Rursus amici pavones et columbae, turtures et psittaci, merulae et turdi,' &c. &c. Ovid again alludes to this idea in Her. 15. 37 'Et variis albae iunguntur saepe columbae: Et niger a viridi turtur amatur ave.' 15. Iuvenis Phoceus, i.e. Pylades, son of Strophius king 1 H. N. 10. 74. K |